


Hypnopompia

by extremelyperturbed



Category: Hannibal (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Bottom Will Graham, Canon-Typical Violence, Drama, Gore, Horror, M/M, Rimming, Top Hannibal, Wendigo Hannibal, dubcon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-10
Updated: 2015-11-09
Packaged: 2018-04-25 16:21:34
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 6
Words: 8,371
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4967863
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/extremelyperturbed/pseuds/extremelyperturbed
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Done in response to this kinkmeme  http://hannibalkink.dreamwidth.org/4963.html?thread=8193891#cmt8193891</p><p>Will is chased through the forest by bad men and hides in a house owned by a handsome stranger. At night, he dreams that a Wendigo comes to his bed to eat him, but instead smells his arousal and sucks him off instead. Then again. Then again. Will wakes in the morning wrung out as a lemon. Over the course of his stay, Hannibal courts him and feeds him well, and at night feeds from him in his true form.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

“Please, please let me in,” cried Will as he knocked on the door of the cottage in the middle of the woods. 

The door opened to reveal an older man with handsome if somewhat severe features, dressed in silk pajamas. “You know it’s quite rude to awaken someone in the dead of night.”

“I wouldn’t have knocked if wasn’t a matter of life or death,” said Will.

The man looked at him steadily before stepping aside for him to come in.

Will threw his jacket and bag on a nearby couch before taking off his shoes. 

“I would like to know why you are running around the woods at this time and place,” said the man.

“Have you ever heard of Mason Verger?”

“I am familiar with that name. A pig farmer . . .”

“In a manner of speaking,” said Will, catching his breath. “He is also a vicious psychopath whose fortune hides his many crimes. His sister and I spent a night together. It turns out she wanted to have a son so she could stand to inherit some of the fortune and leave him. Mason forced her to have an abortion and then he put a price on my head for touching what he considers his.”

“I see . . . What are your plans?”

“I have been up two days in a row. I will be out of your hair once I have a good night's sleep. I know a place where I can get a boat . . .”

“I will set up a place for you to sleep.”

“Thank you.”

The older man smiled slightly. “You’re welcome. What’s your name?”

“Will Graham. What’s yours?”

“Call me Hannibal. Let me make you some warm milk and honey so you can sleep better.”

***  
I’m dreaming, thought Will. He was often prone to lucid dreams where he knew that what he was seeing and hearing was not real but a product of an overactive imagination freed from the daytime restraints of logic and reality. However, this dream was even stranger than usual. He dreamed that he was in the bed of his host’s guest room but that he was unable to move. He felt a strange presence so he looked towards the bedroom door. It was a tall monster with black skin and antlers like that of a stag. 

It’s just . . . It’s just sleep paralysis, thought Will, remembering that people throughout history had often dreamed of ominous monsters coming for them in the middle of the night and sitting on their chest. He can’t hurt me, he thought as he took in shallow breaths and willed himself to keep calm as the thing started to sniff him as if he was smelling something tasty. He felt a sudden fear that he was about to be eaten when the monster unbuttoned the pajama pants he was wearing, kneeled next to the bed, and began nuzzling his cock, which was stirring from the stimulation and his fright. The monster opened its mouth and wrapped its lips around it. 

Much to his surprise, the monster turned out to be incredibly adept at lapping at the head and using its lips along his shaft. Instead of using its sharp teeth to bite him, it pulled its lips back to cover the knife-like points while its enthusiastic licking caused him to come several times in a row into its welcoming mouth. He felt intense shame at whimpering and moaning at its ministrations even though he was so paralyzed that he could not even move his head or say anything above a whisper.

After leaving him utterly limp and sweaty, it opened its mouth and put his cock back into his pants. As it stood up, its alien features seemed to express the very human emotion of satisfaction.

***  
It was bright daylight when Will opened his eyes. He walked into the kitchen to find Hannibal putting hash browns, toasted wheat bread and a frittata on two plates. “Breakfast is ready. If you had continued sleeping, I would have woken you.”

“You didn’t have to do all this.” 

“I wanted to. Besides, you looked like you needed the protein.”

Will sat down at the table. After his host put away his pots and pans and sat down opposite him, he began to eat. He enjoyed the mushrooms, onion and small bits of ham in the frittata. 

“I hope that it is to your taste.”

“It’s delicious,” said Will. “You should open up your own restaurant.”

Hannibal smiled and spread marmalade on a slice of toast. 

Will glanced at the couch and noticed his jacket and bag was gone. “Where are my things?”

“I washed them and put them outside on a line to dry.” Hannibal took out a small wooden box and showed him where his pocket knife and money was. 

“His men . . .”

“Will not see it. I have surrounded it with my own washing.”

“It’s not safe for you for me to be here any longer than . . .”

“I will decide what is safe and what is not for me,” said Hannibal. “Finish your breakfast.”

***  
It was just before sunset when Hannibal took in the dry clothes. Hannibal quickly built a fire and turned on lamps powered by the solar panels on the roof. As Hannibal began mending some of the clothes, Will said, “You don’t have to do it.”

“I only do as I please,” said Hannibal. 

Will sighed. “The men Mason hires . . . They’re goons and gangsters. I already feel ashamed that I couldn’t protect Margot but I don’t want you to get hurt by all this too.”

Hannibal put down the clothes and said, “It is very kind of you to be concerned. But you would be safer staying here rather than wandering these woods alone. Do you have anywhere to go? Do you have someone waiting for you?”

Will shook his head. “No, but I know how to survive. I grew up learning how to live on as little as possible. I . . .” Will was interrupted by the sound of rain on the roof of the cabin. 

“I don’t think tonight would be a good time for you to leave,” said Hannibal. Hannibal put aside the clothes and went to the kitchen. “I hope you like soup.”

After taking a pot of pork stock from the refrigerator and scooping off the fat and putting the pot on the range, Hannibal quickly chopped up some herbs and vegetables and added them to the pot once the gelatinous stock had melted back into liquid. 

As the soup simmered on the range, Will said, “Hannibal?”

“Yes, Will?”

“Why do you live by yourself in the middle of nowhere?”

“I didn’t always live here but at this point in my life, I wanted to enjoy the solitude and commune with nature. However, your appearance has made me realize that there is great worth in companionship as well.”

“What did you do before you came here?”

“I was a surgeon then I became a psychiatrist. How about you?”

“I was a teacher.”

“You must miss your students.”

“Not really. I’m not very social and I mostly just lecture and do presentations about my specialty.”

“What is your specialty?”

“Profiling.”

“Profiling . . .”

“It’s creating a picture of the perpetrator of a crime based on the evidence and trying to understand the motivations and thought patterns behind the crime.”

“Sounds fascinating.”

Will chuckled. “Talking about it never really worked for me at parties.”

“Perhaps you have been talking to the wrong people.”

***  
That night, he had a strange dream where he heard banging on the door of the cabin, muffled yelling and then a scream that was cut off in mid-exhale. A short time later, the monster came into his room and instead of immediately sucking his dick, the monster began running his hand through his hair and caressing his face with the back of its hands as if filled with a deep affection. The monster pulled back the blankets and lay down between his legs and again engulfed his cock into its hungry mouth. With anybody else, Will would have had to remain soft for half an hour between each ejaculation but something about the monster’s touch kept him hard and coming again and again.

It was not the hunger that surprised him but how surprisingly gentle it was with him. Now that he was sure it was not interested in eating his flesh, he could concentrate on the other things about it. The monster put his cock back into his pants and then pulled the blankets back on top of him as if tucking in a child. It even was careful to shut the door softly.

***  
“I think I heard some thumping around during the night,” said Will during a breakfast of sausages, scrambled eggs and biscuits. Outside the sky was still overcast with dark clouds that promised additional rain during the day.

Hannibal looked a bit surprised then said, “I’m sorry. I was retrieving some firewood from outside and some of the logs fell on the floor. One hit my foot. I was not too pleased.”

“Oh.”

“You look a little tired. It sounds like you did not sleep well.”

“After the noise, I had a strange dream.”

“Would you like to tell me about it?”

“Please don’t psychoanalyze me, especially not this early in the day.”

“I did not mean to make you uncomfortable.”

“I’ve not had a good experience with psychiatrists.”

“No need to explain. I don’t have a television but I do have a stereo system with a radio and some books to read. I hope my taste in literature is to your liking. I have an assistant who delivers supplies on a regular basis and her next visit in the next few days. I could have her pick up anything that your heart desires. I‘ll have to call her for more supplies, anyway. Is there anything you want?”

“I . . . Some fresh orange juice would be nice.”

“Nothing else.”

“Not really. Maybe a fishing pole and a few lures. I heard there’s a lake around here.”

“Easily done.”

“I . . .”

“Go on.”

“I left all my dogs with a friend when I went on the run. I just want to know how they are.”

“I can have her find out.”

Will put his hands over his face. “I owe you so much.”

“Your coming here is payment enough.”


	2. Chapter 2

The monster came again during the night. Will expected it to resume its usual nightly feeding only to be surprised when it gently rolled him on his stomach. He felt his pants being pulled down and the feeling of something warm and wet at the entrance to his hole. Will realized that it was the monster’s tongue, which seemed to grow hotter and longer the more the monster explored inside of him. It finally grew long enough that it brushed against a spot that made him feel intense waves of pleasure. 

It finally reached around and started caressing his shaft until he came all over its hand. The hand withdrew and he could guess that it was lapping his semen off its fingers. His pants were pulled up and he was placed on his back before it again disappeared.   
***  
One morning, Will opened the door to the dining room to see a woman with short wavy black hair and brown eyes in a brown shirt and black pants standing next to multiple plastic containers whose contents Hannibal was inspecting.

“There are the truffles and the rice for risotto you requested. I also have the wagyu beef from Japan, the saffron, and the Chianti you requested. I also bought the eggs from free range hens, the special butter for baking and the foie gras,” she said. “I also brought the English tea supplies just before my drive here.”

“That is all very good but did you bring the orange juice?”

“I brought two gallons of fresh-squeezed orange juice. And I brought the fishing rod and the lures as requested.”

“Excellent.” Hannibal turned to see Will at the door. “Come in, Will. Chiyoh, this is Will Graham. He will be staying with me for a while. Will, this is Chiyoh, my assistant.”

“Good morning,” she said. “Your presence here is a surprise.”

“I hope that I haven’t added to your workload,” said Will as he sat down at the table.

She sat down as Hannibal put away the supplies to his liking. “I am used to fulfilling the most unusual requests. Orange juice and fishing equipment barely took any effort.”

Hannibal took out three plates of china and began preparing the finger sandwiches and plating the pastries that Chiyoh had delivered. He also put on a kettle for the hot water for tea. 

“I also have news regarding your dogs,” said Chiyoh. 

“Oh, really?” said Will.

“Your friend Alana Bloom is still taking care of them. They are well. However . . .”

“However?”

“One of Mason’s men came to her door and asked where you were. She insisted that she did not know your whereabouts and told them that if anything happened to her, the FBI would get involved as she worked for them. They told her that they would be keeping an eye on her and it would be very bad if she was lying to them.”

“So, they’re still looking for me.”

“Yes,” said Chiyoh.

Hannibal said, “Then you are to stay here for the foreseeable future. It appears that they are concentrating their attention on your former locale, hoping for a clue. As long as you remain here, they will have no way to find you.” The kettle whistled and he poured the water into the teapot that had a tea ball with loose leaf Darjeeling in it. 

“It must be terrible for everybody else though.”

“It would be even worse if you were to go back. They would not expend so much effort just to give you a mild talking to . . . You would likely be killed and that would not be something your friends would want.” Hannibal put the plates on the dining table, put the teacups and the saucers on, the sugar bowl and the miniature jug of cream, and then finally the teapot before sitting down with them. 

“I don’t know how long they’ll keep looking for me,” said Will. “It may be months or even years.”

“You are welcome here as long as they are looking,” said Hannibal. He poured each of them a cup of the tea.

“You say that now . . .”

“I am a man of my word,” said Hannibal. “Now please eat.”

Will took one of the roast beef finger sandwiches and popped it into his mouth. The beef was tender with just the right touch of mustard. He took a sip of tea. “How long have you known Hannibal?” Will said to Chiyoh.

“I’ve known him for a very long time. I once worked for his aunt but after she passed away, I worked for him.”

“Are you two . . .”

Chiyoh gave him a look that made him feel like she thought his brain was the size of a flea. “Our relationship is purely platonic and professional.”

“I see . . .”

“Would you like to stay for the night and do some hunting?” said Hannibal. 

“No, I must go back before night falls,” said Chiyoh. “There are some things in the mail that need to be reviewed by you personally.” She handed him a handful of envelopes that she had obviously opened and reviewed.

Hannibal skimmed through them and said, “It looks I will have to meet personally with my accountant. He wants to make sure that I’m still alive. I can‘t say I mind him being cautious. I will call him and set up an appointment in two weeks.”

“Will you need me to pick you up?”

“No, I shall drive there myself.”

“You have a car?” said Will.

“I have a Bentley in a nearby storage shed.”

***  
Later that night, they were reading by the fire while classical music playing in the background. Hannibal was reading Le Guide Culinaire by Escoffier while Will was reading a biography of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the author of the Sherlock Holmes stories.

“You’re reading a cook book in French,” said Will.

“Yes, I enjoy visualizing cooking the recipes and guessing what the final product would taste like.”

“Does that really work?”

“It does. It helps to construct a memory palace. It is a mnemonic device from ancient Greece where one creates a place for one‘s memories and places the memories so they are easier to find and process. The legend has it that the poet Simonides of Ceos went to a banquet. He stepped outside to meet with two men. However, the men failed to be there and the hall collapsed behind him. Everybody in the hall died. Unfortunately, the bodies were so crushed that they were impossible to identify. However, he was able to remember who had been sitting where and was able to match each body with a name.”

“What a gruesome origin story for such a useful technique.”

Hannibal smiled. “People all over the world run marathons, ignoring that its origin story has its runner drop dead the second he delivered his message. People go out of their way to ignore the nasty side of things they enjoy.”

“I am often reminded how people hate it when I leave the head on my fish when I cook. They do not like being stared at by their food.”

Hannibal chuckled at that. “Would you care for a snifter of cognac?”

“I’d love one.”

Hannibal poured a small amount of the liquid into two snifters and handed one to Will. “Your friend Alana . . . Is she . . .”

“No. As Chiyoh said, it’s platonic and professional.” Will sniffed then sipped the liquor. “It’s smooth.”

Hannibal took a sip himself. “I’m curious why you have seven dogs . . .”

“Dogs are simple. You feed them and care for them and they love you. They don’t require a lot of over thinking. You don’t have to put on a show or twist yourself inside out to satisfy them.”

“I find it hard to believe that you would find it so hard to be loved.”

Will laughed. “I’ve been on my best behavior. Usually I’m prickly like a hedgehog with its head and belly tucked.”

They both took a sip of cognac. 

Hannibal said, “Regarding my appointment, I hate to leave you alone for a few days. I’d take you with me but I worry that there would be a small chance of . . .”

“I know. I don‘t mind staying here. Maybe I could go fishing while you‘re away.”

“They could still be looking around here. I should have Chiyoh here to keep guard.”

“I think she’d be very annoyed if you asked her to do that. And I have the feeling she‘s the wrong person to annoy.”

“Then could you put off fishing until I come back?”

“All right.” Will sighed. 

“Someday, I promise that you and I will walk the streets of a city together without a care in the world.”

“Hannibal?”

“Yes, Will?”

“Do you . . .”

“Go on.”

“Do you like me?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simonides_of_Ceos#The_inventor I feel that this legend would be something Hannibal would find extremely amusing.
> 
> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marathon#Origin The story of the marathon. 
> 
> http://tvatemywardrobe.com/2015/05/12/hannibal-season-3-promo-photos-include-costume-changes-galore-super-spoiler-warning/hannibal-s3-will-graham-and-chyoh/ is her current costume in the story
> 
> As for why Will does not ask regarding Margot, he rightly assumes that Margot is currently under Mason's thumb & mostly under his version of a house arrest (she's not to go outside estate grounds) and asking someone to take on all the risk to find out more about her current situation is more than he feels he has the right to ask. It is much easier to pass by Alana's house without attracting attention.
> 
> here is an example of a tea ball http://www.teavana.com/tea-products/tea-makers-infusers/p/perfect-tea-ball
> 
> As for Hannibal's accountant wanting to see him, it's based on the movie Bernie that was based on a real -life incident. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernie_%282011_film%29 A man killed his old wealthy and extremely crotchety benefactress and the stockbroker got suspicious because he couldn't reach her to authorize things so he got her estranged family to look into matters and that's how her body was found. 
> 
> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Le_guide_culinaire is the book Hannibal is reading. 
> 
> It's hard to explain but I always thought Chiyoh had a bit of disdain for Will with no real proof she ever changed her mind about him.


	3. Chapter 3

Hannibal closed his book, put down his snifter, turned to face Will and said, “I do. Very much so. I didn’t want to tell you because I didn’t want to give you more reason to feel you should leave.”

Will put down his own book and snifter on the nearby coffee table before giving Hannibal a flirty look. “I’m not exactly rushing to the door.” 

Hannibal got up from his seat and sat next to Will on the couch, who turned to face him. He put his hands on Will’s shoulders and seemed to be waiting for a sign for him to stop. When there was no pulling away, Hannibal closed his eyes and kissed him, the first being almost chaste and a peck. The second was more passionate with Hannibal pulling Will closer to him. “Please, sit on my lap,” said Hannibal.

Will slowly slid his way on to Hannibal’s lap and they continued kissing each other, wrapped up in each other. Hannibal rested his hand on Will’s crotch. “May I?” Hannibal whispered in his ear.

“Yes,” said Will. 

Hannibal gave him a smile and used one hand to unbutton then unzip Will’s pants. He reached in and pulled out Will’s cock and balls and held them in his hand as if satisfied by their heft. He began stroking him while continuing to nuzzle and shower his neck with kisses. 

Right before Will was about to come, Hannibal looked intently at his face and said, “I love your face like this, flushed and with your lips parted . . .”

“Hanni . . .” said Will, just before he shivered and came all over Hannibal’s hand. 

“I should return the favor . . .” said Will, feeling that he should reciprocate while he watched Hannibal clean off his sticky hand with his tongue. 

“I am satisfied and you can do it next time,” said Hannibal, licking the last drops from his hand. 

Will smiled while resting his head on Hannibal‘s shoulder. “Yes, next time.”  
***  
“I will leave in the morning, stay the night in the city and be back to make dinner the day after,” said Hannibal the night before his appointment with his accountant. 

“I’d rather you not hurry on my behalf.”

“It is for my own sake I hurry,” said Hannibal. “But before I leave I want to show you something.” Hannibal opened the door and picked up a crank-powered lamp. “I have a treat for you.” 

“The sun has set. It‘s really dark outside.” It was especially dark since there was no moon out. Also, usually Hannibal insisted they keep inside after sunset. 

“It’s nearby.” Hannibal held out his hand.

They walked a short distance away from the now dark house so aside from the light of the lamp, there was only an inky blackness. Hannibal turned off the lamp. As Will’s eyes adjusted to the darkness, Will saw what Hannibal was trying to show him. They were surrounded by what appeared to be thousands of fireflies. “Oh, it’s beautiful,” said Will, genuinely awed by what he saw.

“You are the only person I’ve ever shown this to,” said Hannibal. “There is so much I want to show you, so much I want you to see.”

“Thank you.”

They held each other and watched the lights float around them. 

Once they got back to the house and took off their shoes, Hannibal said, “May I show you more?”

“I’m up for anything you want to show me.”

Hannibal swept Will off his feet and carried him to Hannibal’s bedroom. Their clothes swiftly ended up on the floor.

Will looked at the man who had carried him. He had broad shoulders with a carpet of hair on his chest. With his hair mussed, he seemed to radiate the wild power of a lion or a bull. Will felt very slight and insubstantial next to him. 

“What are you thinking, Will?”

“I was thinking how much bigger you are than me,” said Will. 

Hannibal smiled. “I hope you don’t find it intimidating.”

“Maybe a little but I also find it really hot.”

Hannibal’s eyes twinkled with approval and arousal. 

Will walked up to Hannibal, caressed his chest with his hands and gave him a kiss before lying down on the bed and waving him to come over.

Hannibal lay down next to him and they spent time just touching each other.

“Do you want to try something different?” said Will.

“Different?” said Hannibal.

Will held his knees to his chest so his buttocks were in the air. “Only if you want to.”

“Oh, I want to. Let me prepare us.”

Will felt Hannibal reach into a drawer and find a bottle of lube. He let Hannibal take his time and let his fingers loosen him up, both physically and mentally. He watched as Hannibal drizzled the transparent gel over his erect cock and used his hand to coat it evenly while feeling embarrassed about how intently Hannibal was looking at him. 

Will felt himself being filled as Hannibal entered him. “I want to bury all of myself inside you,” said Hannibal as he began going slow but deep inside of Will. “Feel every part of you that I can touch. I want to breathe you in.”

“The way you look at me,” said Will as they interlaced their fingers. “It’s like you think I’m a grand mystery to solve.”

“I hope to have all the time in the world to try,” said Hannibal before they both lost their words and sense of self and merged and blurred and finally came together. 

***  
It was quiet in the house without Hannibal around. Despite Will telling Hannibal that he could easily make a sandwich or roast a chicken, Hannibal had left him Tupperware filled with various dishes. To pass the time, he read a book discussing the Aarne-Thompson classification of fairy tales, how it organized them in terms of the type of tale and the motifs. He worked on getting his fishing gear organized and ready so he and Hannibal could spend the day at the lake. After dinner, he took a shower and went to sleep early. 

Will was sleeping when the sound of banging stirred him into opening his eyes. He was confused, wondering if it was going to be either the monster coming to visit him or Hannibal coming home early. The door opened and he realized that it was a trio of strangers. He jumped out of bed only to be wrestled to the ground by three men. Before he was knocked unconscious, all he could think that he was glad Hannibal wasn’t there.

***  
“So, we finally found the missing baby daddy or should we say the almost-daddy.”

Disoriented, Will opened his eyes to see Mason Verger, standing in his cream wool coat, looking smug with a large, balding man standing next to him. I must be somewhere on the Verger estate, he thought. Will found he was tied to the dining room chair. Margot was tearfully looking at him and sitting across from him.

“You don’t have to do this Mason,” said Margot. “He has ties to the FBI, that’s dangerous even for you.”

“It’s only dangerous if they ever found he was ever here,” Mason said.

“The baby’s dead. You made sure of that. What was the point of bringing him back here? It won’t become even more dead.”

“The baby was also an idea and I need to crush that idea like a little baby bird on the sidewalk, Margot. The only heir to my fortune is going to be a Verger baby on both sides of its parentage, not you and some sad sperm donor whose goo you squeezed out between your unexcited thighs. I promised you a baby and you’re going to get one but I can’t have you chasing ideas I don’t like. And in order to make sure you don’t try again, I have to make him an example.”

“What are you going to do with him?”

“I’m going to make him a fun lobotomized fucktoy for the boys. I shouldn’t be the only one to slick the stick,” said Mason before he laughed maniacally at his own joke. Then he looked terribly annoyed. “Where are they, anyway?”

***

Twelve hours earlier

Hannibal found his meeting with his accountant tedious but necessary. After Hannibal signed various papers and discussed his cash flow, the accountant found him solvent for the present though warned against spending too much more, considering he had taken a sabbatical from work. Hannibal reassured him that he would not go over budget or that he would do some work to make up for it if he were to increase expenditures.

After dinner, Hannibal went back to his hotel and picked up the phone to call Will. His phone rang and rang before going straight to voice mail. This disquieted him. He took out his laptop. He turned it on. Once it had fully rebooted, he clicked on an icon that gave him access to the video security system in the house. He had put in the system when he had first moved into the woods and had worked hard to put the cameras in places where nobody would find them. 

He looked at the security video and ground his teeth when he saw that three men had busted down his door, ran into the adjoining rooms and had dragged an unconscious Will out of the house. “Verger,” he said. He picked up his phone and punched in an another set of numbers. “Chiyo, there’s something I need you to do.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aarne%E2%80%93Thompson_classification_systems I noticed that fairy tales were being assigned numbers and subtypes on wikipedia and this was the basis of the classifications.
> 
> The next chapter is liable to be canon-level gory as Hannibal goes to save his man.


	4. Chapter 4

“You really believe Will Graham is worth rescuing?”

Hannibal looked up from the laptop that held all the information Chiyoh had found regarding Muskat Farm and the Vergers. He and Chiyoh were in the backseat of a Bentley being driven by Denise, a woman that Chiyoh regarded as cool, competent and discreet. “Yes, Chiyoh,” said Hannibal. “I do.”

“Aside from being a sadist whose fortune protects him from prosecution, Mason Verger has nearly a dozen security men under his employ and by security men, I mean former felons and rogue agents willing to dirty their hands for money. Getting Will out may mean taking them all out. Also the building is vast, he will be hard to find. If I had more time, i could have hired a team . . .”

"I actually prefer to work alone." Hannibal smiled at her. “I notice that there is a loading area for supplies. I’m sure that they will unload Will there as it will be easier to explain a delivery truck in the early morning. From there, I am sure that I will be able to use my nose to pick up the trail. He has a very distinctive perfume.”

“Denise will be ready to drive you away from here when you have rescued him. Is there anything that you need me to do?”

“I want you to cover me when I’m going into the estate. After I get in, I’d like you to check the rest of the estate from the outside. If you do happen to see Will in danger, protect him and call me to tell me where he is.”

“It won’t be enough just to get him out.”

“No, I have to make sure they never come for him again.”

***

“What are you doing here?” 

Standing near the loading dock, Hannibal turned to see two of Verger’s goons standing behind him. “I was just hiking through the woods and decided to take a look at such a lovely . . .”

“Bullshit, you’re checking out the place to burglarize it,” said one of the men, a blond man with a thick neck. “Everybody in the area knows that this is Mason Verger’s place.”

“I’m a tourist from Europe,” said Hannibal. “I meant no harm.” He put his hands up at chest level. If he were to put them completely up, Chiyoh would know to shoot them. He had instructed her to keep outside of the estate. He did not want to have to save two people instead of just one.

“You’re coming in with us,” said the other man with a full salt and pepper lumberjack beard, waving his gun in a threatening manner.

“As you wish,” said Hannibal. Being led to wherever they held prisoners was precisely what he wanted. He could already smell that Will had been delivered here not too long ago.

However, as they led him down the hall towards the basement stairs, he was displeased that Will’s scent was becoming fainter instead of stronger. “Where are you leading me?” Hannibal said.

The men were smirking, which angered Hannibal even more. The last thing he wanted was for two thugs to waste his time while he should be searching for Will. However, he would be patient until he could get them in a position to dispatch them quickly. And as much as he wanted to take his time to make them feel his displeasure, he had much higher priorities than toying with worthless pigs.

The blond guard narrowed his eyes at Hannibal. “You’re a funny one. No fighting back and no pleading for mercy. You’re not even cracking jokes.”

“You are sending me to the waiting room for the police, are you not?”

“Yeah . . . Yeah, that’s what we’re doing,” said the other one.

Hannibal saw one guard take a step down the stairs in front of him while the other decided to stay behind him. The first guard flipped on the light switch next to the door before walking down a few more steps. Hannibal quickly flipped it off and kicked the first guard down the stairs, turned to the second guard and knocked the gun out of his hand. 

The guard lifted a knife to stab Hannibal only to see instead of a man, a horned monster with black skin and fangs hissing at him. He opened his mouth to scream except a quarter second later, his voice box was sliced into ribbons by Hannibal’s knife-like claws and he started to choke on his blood. Hannibal threw the twitching body down the stairs. The first guard was trying to get to his feet, only to be knocked off his feet by the corpse, causing him to fall further down the stairs and slam his head on the floor at the bottom of the steps.

After Hannibal closed the door, he sniffed the air and tasted the air with his tongue. This way, he thought as he ran down the halls, not bothering to switch back to his human form. The stronger Will’s scent became, the faster he ran. 

***

“Cordell,” said Mason Verger, pacing back and forth. “Why don’t you give him something that will make him less of a pain to drag to the basement? It turns out I might have to do some downsizing.”

Cordell pulled a bottle from his pocket and plunged the hypodermic needle into the bottle. He smirked at Will and said, “This is merely a paralytic. This doesn’t reduce the pain at all.”

Cordell began to lean over Will to administer the drug to his neck, only to have his action terminated by a bullet that entered his left forehead and exited his right, trailed by a shower of blood and large chunks of his skull and brain matter. He fell to the ground, crushing the bottle and breaking the needle.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Notes: The basic layout for Muskat Farm is hard for me to puzzle out. So I had to make several assumptions:
> 
> 1\. The stable is ground level, set in front of the house and off to the side, especially since we see people walk in, often when they first come to the estate after getting through the gated entrance.  
> 2\. There is a lot of open space when it comes to the back of the estate.  
> 3\. Will and Hannibal on the show were delivered by meat truck and considering it’s a huge estate with a stable and lots of pigs, I expect there to be a loading dock of some sort for deliveries and supplies.   
> 4\. The dungeon & surgery room seems dark and has a basement feel, which is where the goons were leading Hannibal. 
> 
> Some really nice shots of the place. http://fuckyeahannibal.tumblr.com/post/88660057745/he-ate-us-meme-23-locations-muskrat-farm  
> http://i.imgur.com/VEgHHIF.png
> 
> I did consider having Hannibal toying with the goons more but he's in a hurry because Chiyoh's research was pretty thorough about the kind of creep Mason is. And I like to imagine Hannibal doing this to Mason's house. https://youtu.be/79ditPebZ8g
> 
> Yes, Denise is the orderly who brought Hannibal his phone and threatened to mace him if he didn't stand away from the drawer. Denise doesn't kill people but is OK with the basic thrust of this mission since she also has heard about the things Mason has done.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is quite squicky as Hannibal takes his revenge on Mason.

“Cordell!” screamed Mason before he threw himself to the ground and scuttled underneath the table in fear. It had always been easy for Mason to appear tough and bully others as long as he had a flunky or his father to stand behind him but he had little courage when he was by himself. 

Margot positioned herself so she was out of sight of the windows and crawled over to Cordell‘s corpse. She found a pocket knife in one of his pockets and hurriedly cut Will‘s bindings. “Lets go,” she said.

Still weak from being drugged, Will crouched down with her and they tried to make it to the door when Mason got out from under the table and leaped on Will’s back to knock him to the floor. “No, you’re not leaving.”

“Let him go, Mason,” said Margot. 

The door opened and revealed a monster with midnight skin and antlers and eyes that seemed to show nothing but white sclera. It roared as it pulled Mason off Will and banged his head against the wall, knocking the man unconscious.

“Oh my God, you’re real,” said Will in a tone that spoke equally of awe and dread.

“Will, what’s going on?” said Margot.

“I came here to rescue Will.” Noticing the knife in her hand, he said, “I have no personal quarrel with you, Margot.”

“Hannibal?” said Will. 

The monster nodded his head though it seemed it was a reluctant assent. “Are you all right?” he said as he lowered himself to take a closer look at Will. He shifted his attention to Margot. “He seems . . .”

“He’s still groggy from being drugged. It should wear off eventually,” said Margot. 

“What were they going to do to him?” said Hannibal.

“They were going to lobotomize him to teach me a lesson,” she said.

“I see.” Hannibal turned around to see that Mason was on his feet and had pulled out a knife. Mason, snarling, jabbed the knife into Hannibal’s stomach. A look of triumph flashed on his face only to be changed into that of terror when he realized that his thrust had met no resistance and his hand was now inside Hannibal’s body and he couldn’t pull it out. In fact, there was no sign of bleeding or cutting on Hannibal’s body. It was as if Mason’s hand was now surrounded by black cement that had instantly hardened.

"My hand!" screamed Mason. 

“Will, Margot, please turn around. What will transpire will be most unpleasant," said Hannibal.

“You want that guy! You can have him!” said Mason. “I’ve got lots of money and power. What do you want? I can get it for you even if it’s illegal.” Even as he said this, the notion had finally alighted on his brain that this was a being that could not be placated by money or tawdry gifts and favors, a power that was beyond the use of physical force and his comparatively feeble threats. He was reminded of a time when he was a little boy and his father, a giant beast of a man, towered above him with his face red with anger and eyes bulging over some unknown slight, whose rage came like a sudden thunderstorm and announced itself with a deep, oppressive rumble. 

His blabber was cut short when Hannibal opened his mouth with multiple rows of sharp teeth and used them to pull Mason’s tongue from his mouth and bit down. After watching the beast display the tip of his tongue between his lips and suck it in like a piece of candy, Mason screamed as blood ran from his mouth but he no longer tried to speak. It was obvious Hannibal did not want him to nor did he seem to want to waste any words on him. He frantically tried, with his free hand, to find something else with which to attack him but there was nothing he could reach. Mentally, he cursed Margot for not doing anything to help him.

He felt the two ice-cold hands on each side of his face then screamed once more when his head was twisted with such force that he could hear the loud crack of his neck being broken. His head was brought back to face the beast and he was being leaned against the wall to keep from falling. 

Two knife-like claws were pointed at Mason’s eyes. Instead of piercing his eyes, the claws went under his eyelids but over his eyeballs and Mason realized exactly what Hannibal was going to do to him and screamed in a distorted fashion, “No! God, no!”

“I am not your God,” said Hannibal before inserting them into his brain and proceeded to turn his frontal lobe into a slurry.

Meanwhile, Margot and Will had followed his advice and turned away from the scene and put their hands over their ears. 

After Hannibal lowered a now quiet Mason to the floor, he turned to Will and Margot. He said, “I made quite a mess getting here. Considering how many incidents your brother has covered up, it shouldn’t be a problem keeping this from going public.”

Margot looked at what was left of her brother, a blood-drooling vacant doll crying crimson tears with his right hand mangled and pierced by his own knife. “I know who to call and they’re pretty good about covering things up but covering up Mason’s death might be a challenge . . .”

Hannibal chuckled. “He’s not dead. I did to him what he was planning to do to Will. I came here to rescue Will and make sure that the man who took him from me would never be able to do so again. Since he is no longer a threat to Will, he is no longer a threat to you. I‘d say that you owe me a great deal. The least you can do is keep both me and Will remain unaffected by this.”

“I understand.” She had little choice. “I'll say that he had an accident that broke his neck and cracked his skull. I’ll get help making it stick.” 

“Mason should live quite a long time in a good care facility. That should give you a lot of time to create an heir of your own choosing.”

“Just as long as the father isn’t Will Graham.”

Hannibal smiled. “You’re a clever girl. You understand perfectly.” 

“What do you plan to do to Will?”

“I’m going to take care of him.” Hannibal picked up Will in his arms, his legs slung over one arm and his back resting on the other. “We have much to talk about. If I see any of your servants on the way out, I will inform them that you are the new boss and that you are waiting for them here.”

The sight of the strange beast holding Will like that reminded Margot of Michelangelo’s Pieta, though this could only be a blasphemous version. However, she decided to say nothing as the pair left. 

***  
Parked just inside the woods near the edge of the estate, Denise was sitting in the car, reading “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.” She could see Chiyoh in the distance, waiting for Hannibal. She had told Chiyoh that it would be better if she also waited in the car but Chiyoh had insisted that she was fine. She quietly hoped to herself that Hannibal wasn’t dead inside the mansion or that he wasn’t bringing back a corpse. Suddenly, she saw Chiyoh run back to the car, pick up a suitcase from the trunk and run towards someone in the distance. Denise put down her book and turned on the car to warm it up a few minutes before driving in the snow. 

She frowned when she saw Hannibal wearing different clothes than what he had been wearing when he went in. She also noticed that he was carrying Will Graham. She lowered the window and said, “Is everything all right? Should I call the hospital?”

“That won‘t be necessary,” said Hannibal. “He’s still groggy from what they gave him but he’s coming around.” He seemed almost jaunty.

After everybody was buckled in, Denise drove off. She waited for someone to tell her more about what had happened inside the mansion but after a few minutes, it was obvious that they preferred to keep her in the dark. Perhaps she didn’t really want to know. She turned on the radio and turned it to a news channel.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't recall Mason ever trying to face someone alone by choice. He's always had muscle around to do his bidding unless it's been someone he knows he can overpower like a kid or his sister. 
> 
> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lobotomy#Transorbital_lobotomy 
> 
> The security Mason employed were slaughtered. As for random non-security servants, they were left unharmed by Hannibal, partly due to the fact he was in a hurry and they were not in his way and partly because he knows that talk about horned killer monsters usually just invites disbelieving eyerolls, especially from the authorities. 
> 
> In my head canon for the actual series, I think Hannibal actually liked Margot or at least did not wish her ill. He obviously did not want Will to have a baby with her (and a permanent entanglement with Margot due to its existence) but did not anticipate Mason going as far as he did. He genuinely saw Margot murdering Mason as therapeutic and good for her and helped her gain Mason's fortune. 
> 
> In this story, Margot still has her ovaries and uterus intact.


	6. Chapter 6

In the cottage’s kitchen, Chiyoh watched while Hannibal poured the finished soup into a bowl. “Do you want me to stay?”

“I don’t believe that I am in any danger from him.”

“Not physically.”

“I prefer to handle things myself,” said Hannibal.

“Then I will take my leave,” said Chiyoh.

“Chiyoh?”

“Yes.”

“Thank you.”

Chiyoh gave him a small smile and walked out the door. 

Hannibal carried the bowl and accompanying spoon to Will‘s bedroom. “Silkie chicken in a broth. A black-boned bird prized in China for its medicinal values since the seventh century. Wolfberries, ginseng, ginger, red dates and star anise,” Hannibal said.

Will sat up in his bed and said, “You made me chicken soup.”

Hannibal felt a little put off by that description but pushed his irritation away. “Yes. How do you feel?”

“I don’t know how I feel. If you’re talking about being drugged and dragged out of the cottage by Mason‘s men, I’ve recovered. But if you’re talking about how I feel about you, I . . . I don’t know. I’m grateful that you opened your home to me and that you rescued me from a fate worse than death. But I’m also aware that you’re the one who visited me at night and . . .”

“I admit that was rude of me. Even after living so long among people, I often don’t think of things the same way humans do or hold all the same values. I did not mean to frighten you. I will not do it again without your permission.”

Will took a spoonful of the soup. It was delicious as always. “I don‘t know who you really are, what you really want.”

“I will explain after you finish the soup.”

After Will finished his bowl, Hannibal put it aside then sat on the bed. “The man you see before you is real but the being behind the veil is also real. I have lived a very long time among your people, so long that many of my earliest memories are faded and hard to retrieve.”

“Are there others? Is Chiyoh . . .”

Hannibal shook his head. “Chiyoh is as human as you are. And as far as I know, I am the only one. My sister died more than fifty years ago and since then, I have not seen another. My kind have been called many things: dread god, horned god, wendigo, demon.” 

“Were you eventually going to tell me?”

“Eventually, yes. Any reluctance was due to previous attempts with others that ended poorly.” Hannibal had to admit to himself that so far, Will had been the most calm about the discovery.

“Why did you rescue me? You didn’t have to.”

“I wanted to. Don’t you think you’re worthy of being rescued? Besides, Mason coming to a bad end was rather inevitable. There will be no more of his crimes hidden. At least this way, you no longer have to worry about being pursued or feel guilt for not being Margot’s knight in shining armor.” 

After taking a short while to digest what Hannibal said, Will sighed before putting his hands on top of Hannibal’s hands and looking down at them. “What I saw at Muskrat Farm scared me, but do you know what scares me more?”

“Tell me . . .” He wanted to do anything he could to assuage his fears.

“It’s scares me deeply that even after having seen who you truly are and what you are truly capable of, I still want you,” said Will as he lifted his eyes to look at Hannibal‘s face.

Your eyes are the most beautiful shade of blue, Hannibal thought. Hannibal let out a sigh of relief and kissed Will, who did not shrink from him or press his lips tightly together to shut him out. “I have waited a very long time to hear that. You have nothing to fear from me.” He did not know what he would have done if Will had rejected him by telling him that he wanted nothing to do with him and desired only to leave. He knew only that it was like being in a standing in a building made mostly of glass in the middle of an earthquake but when the shaking had stopped, realizing that nothing had been cracked or broken. 

Hannibal pulled him closer and Will put his head on Hannibal’s chest. Hannibal put his hand on top of Will’s head and two tears fell down his face. 

The End

Epilogue:

A year later

“So your boyfriend has finally proposed to you,” said Hannibal as he had tea with Chiyoh.

“Yes,” said Chiyoh. She showed him a gold ring with a diamond surrounded by smaller emeralds. She had a rare look of being pleased on her usually unsmiling face. 

“I shall miss your monthly visits. You are always welcome here.”

“I have made sure to look for a proper replacement. I have two young women in mind,” said Chiyoh. “I want you to make the final choice as you will be dealing with her after I have finished her training.”

“I understand,” said Hannibal. “You have been a most excellent assistant.” He was by no means flattering her when he said this. Not only was she an excellent sharp shooter, brilliant at finding the rarest delicacies and trustworthy with financial matters, she had a politely concealed distaste for Will that quieted Hannibal’s propensity for jealousy. Despite Will’s occasional mockery of his possessiveness, he needed to make sure that the next assistant could make him feel as relaxed in regards to that. “If he is to ever treat you ill, I will help in any way possible.”

“I believe that I can tend to that myself. Where is Will? Is he recuperating from a busy night or is he playing with his herd of dogs?”

“It’s called a pack,” said Hannibal, knowing how much Chiyoh liked to poke fun at the large number of dogs Will had brought into his cottage. To make room for them, he had an addition almost as large as the cottage itself to house them with the stipulation that they be kept there and not stray into the main cottage. “He is asleep.”

“As he is human, he will only have a human lifespan. You will again be alone in a relatively short time,” said Chiyoh.

“Then I shall make the best of the time we have together.”

After the tea was done, Chiyoh left the cottage to go back to her office with her new instructions. Hannibal went to the oven and pulled out a large cooking pot with a lid. He lifted the lid and smiled. It was finally done. He took a ladle and poured the liquid through a coffee filter into a mug. He put the mug on the table.

“Hannibal?” said Will as he padded into the kitchen in his shorts and T-shirt. 

“You needn’t go out of your way to avoid her. She won’t bite,” said Hannibal. 

“I know. What’s this?”

“It’s for your health, something an old friend once taught me to make. It‘s an herbal tea.”

Will sniffed it dubiously but took a sip. “It tastes a little sweet.” 

As Will drank the rest of it down, Hannibal turned to hide his smile. You’re going to be healthy for a very long time, he thought.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I liked that Chiyoh was allowed to walk away from Hannibal in the series to live her own life and wanted to replicate it here. 
> 
> I think Hannibal has hired assistants throughout his long life not just to make his life easy but as he does not naturally age, he uses their aging as a sort of clock to inform him when to change identities. Chiyoh is retiring a bit early. 
> 
> The two candidates are Abigail Hobbs and Clarice Starling. It will take at least a year of training before Chiyoh and Hannibal is satisfied with their proficiency. 
> 
> As for what Hannibal gave Will, I basically decided that an ancient Greek witch like Circe (someone I see being like Bedelia) taught him the recipe or he stole the youth-giving herb from Gilgamesh.

**Author's Note:**

> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sleep_paralysis Sleep paralysis is a very real thing. I once felt an ominous presence and tried to yell but couldn't. It is often believed to be the cause of people reporting alien abductions and demons sitting on their chests during the night as one is paralyzed but unable to stop rather disturbing imagery. 
> 
> Lucid dreams are dreams when you're aware enough to know you're dreaming. With enough practice, you may be able to control the dream.
> 
> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypnopompic is the state of consciousness leading out of sleep.


End file.
